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Beedle the Bard may be the king of storytelling in the Wizarding World, but it’s the Bard of Avon who reigns over the English-speaking Muggle one.

Saturday, April 23 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, and several of our favorite Harry Potter film actors will be celebrating his plays in the coming weeks.

The main event is a cooperative effort of the BBC and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC): the BBC Shakespeare Festival 2016.  The BBC announced that David Tennant (Doctor Who but also Barty Crouch, Jr. in the Harry Potter films) will host Shakespeare Live! from the RSC on BBC2 this Saturday at 8:30 pm BST.

Tennant will be joined by Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Ian McKellan, Benedict Cumberbatch and others in a special variety show at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theater in Stratford, England.  The production will also be screened live in cinemas across Britain and Europe.  Movie theaters in the United States will host the event one month later, on May 23, as The Shakespeare Show.

Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore in several Harry Potter films) is participating in the BBC celebrations by playing Mortimer on The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses television series with Benedict Cumberbatch this year.

Into Film ambassador Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter films) has a Q&A session at Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre as part of BFI’s Shakespeare anniversary events.  Several of Branagh’s Shakespeare films will screen, including Much Ado About Nothing (1993), which he directed and starred in with Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney in the Harry Potter films) and Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films).

Branagh’s Henry V (1989) will also show, featuring Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid in the Harry Potter films) and Emma Thompson.

Please join us in lifting a tankard of Butterbeer to celebrate over 400 years of William Shakespeare’s genius with some of our favorite Harry Potter film stars.  Huzzah!

It looks like David Tennant agrees with Albus Dumbledore. The Radio Times caught Tennant and his Doctor Who co-star Billie Piper’s comments on J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World at an event earlier this week.

Both Doctor Who stars are Harry Potter fans, as expected. Both of them sorted themselves into Slytherin–coming from Barty Crouch Jr., who is surprised?–without taking any quizzes. Tennant also questioned the whole sorting deal in general, finding it a quirk in J.K. Rowling’s world building.

The Radio Times reports Tennant saying:

“I’ve always found that a bit odd. You turn up, think you’re an easy going, happy-go-lucky kid and then on the first day they go, ‘No, you’re a baddie, you’re in Slytherin!’

“As a child psychologist, I don’t think it’s great,” he added with a laugh. “People develop at different stages. I think you should be allowed to get through puberty before you’re condemned to a life on the dark side.”

The original article may be read here.

Many Harry Potter acting alumni have been making the news with their recent achievements. We have always known, and been honored, that many talented British actors chose to take on roles with in the Harry Potter films. That never stops us from being in awe at their achievements.

Scotland’s BAFTAs released their list of nominations for the awards, and a few Harry Potter actors made the list. Emma Thompson (who plays Professor Sybill Trelawney in the Harry Potter films) has been nominated for Best Actress in Film, for her role in The Legend of Barney Thomson. David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter, also well known as Dr. Who) has been nominated for Best Actor in Film, for his role in What We Did On Our Holiday. Peter Mullen (Yaxley…the Death Eater) has been nominated for Best Actor in TV, for his role in Stonemouth.

Thankfully, we can root for all of these incredible actors without guilt, as they are all nominated in different categories.

Sir Kenneth Branagh (Professor Gilderoy Lockhart) has taken the honor of becoming an ambassador for Ireland’s Into Film charity. He joins others, such as Eddie Redmayne (New Scamander in Fantastic Beasts) and Michael Sheen, in taking on the position. Branagh told Belfast Telegraph:

“I’m delighted to be an ambassador for Into Film in Northern Ireland, and keen to highlight what a wonderful resource it can be for young people in a country very close to my heart,” he said.

“Film is an accessible and powerful medium. It can reach young people from every walk of life and inspire them to want to learn and achieve more. I hope I can assist with promoting the education opportunities that Into Film provides in Northern Ireland, and getting as many young people as possible inspired by great films.”

“I’m thrilled to support the Into Film Festival,” added Sir Kenneth.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for young people in Northern Ireland to experience the cinema and be immersed in a film or a discussion. The fact that they could watch something that they would not necessarily consider seeing on their own – all for free – is a truly magnificent offer. I hope that young people and teachers in Northern Ireland take advantage of the Into Film Festival and come away with a head full of new insights, ideas and an invigorated passion for film.”

As well as being a recipient of Lottery funding distributed by film charity BFI, Into Film is further supported by Stormont’s Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure via Northern Ireland Screen.

Working with children and young people aged between five and 19, it attempts to place film at the heart of educational and personal development.

The rest of the article can be read here.

The BBC is reporting that Harry Potter actors Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Jim Broadbent (Professor Slughorn) and David Tennant (Barty Crouch, Jr.) have joined the voice cast of "Postman Pat: The Movie - You Know You're the One."

"Postman Pat: The Movie" will be based on the popular British cartoon which recently celebrated 30 years. The movie will see Postman Pat "lured away from his village by the chance to find fame on a national talent show."

In a statement about the casting, Rupert Grint said:

"Postman Pat is one of those British symbols, I suppose - you are totally familiar with him and his cat Jess, even if you have never watched the series.

"How exciting to be part of the Postman Pat heritage."

This week, the awards season is in full swing and we also have some news about new projects some of the Harry Potter actors have been working on. Firstly, thanks to Christian, we can bring you the news that Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) are up for the German Bravo Otto Best Star in Cinema 2009 award. You... Read the rest of this post

As of today we have a new weekly feature on Leaky, which will bring you a round up of the latest happenings of the Harry Potter actors. This week, there have been a number of stories related to the Harry Potter actors in the news this week. Firstly, our Order Partner RupertGrint.net reports that Universal Pictures UK will be distributing "Cherrybomb" in the U.K. later this year. Mr. Grint plays... Read the rest of this post

Actor David Tennant has been nominated in the annual Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards. The actor, who memorably portrayed Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and is currently starring in the popular Doctor Who series,... Read the rest of this post

Blyberg comments on Tennant’s “cheeky” post. Upshot: people are getting used to rapidly shifting away from services and institutions that don’t meet their needs. Does the library meet their needs? Let’s make the library meet their needs.